In congress. Enjoy book tv and watch over the weekend on cspan2. [inaudible conversations] good afternoon, everyone, welcome to the Henry Wallace center here at Franklin Roosevelt president ial library and museum. Id like to welcome you to todays program. As you know today a pearl harbor day and i would like to take a moment to recognize those who served, if there are any active members or military rise and well acknowledge your service. [applause] thank you very much. Today is a day that marked the transition of america from an isolationist nation to a global super power and there are a few days in World History like december 7th because of what it meant for the world we live in today, really, in so many ways. Were very fortunate to be able to honor today with a Wonderful Program on a new book that has just came out. How many of members here . If youre a member, raise your hand. Wow, look at that, great. Your support makes these programs possible. Its because of members and our trustees like you that we can do these programs and last year, cliff lobby, who is our programs manager, we put on 58 programs here at the library, which is very impressive. [applause] and again, because of your support, we can have the programs for free and its a way to give back to the community because we feel so he strongly at that fdr loved this area and he wanted to be viewed in this way and honoring his wishes. Our speaker today, lew paper is a journalist and he taught at harvard and he was involved with georgetown, but hes also written a number of very interesting books. Hes the author of perfect, which is don larsons a back with don larsons world series, anybody remember that . Perfect pitch world series. And then a book about john f. Kennedy and i didnt have a chance to talk to him. He then wrote a novel about john f. Kennedy deadly risks, about his assassination, he wrote a nonfiction and a fiction book, i bet theyre a good combination. He wrote a book called empire, about william paily and if you dont know, cbs. And his power rivals that of fdr and one of the most powerful media moguls in america and another on a Supreme Court justice so he has a deep grounding in 20th century American History which allows him to bring a fresh perspective on the book hes here to talk about today. In the cauldron, terror, tension and pearl harbor, this is a complicated period and a complicated story how president roosevelt was trying to navigate this transition from america being an isolationist neutral country when he wanted to get into this war, but he didnt really want to get into the war with japan because he wanted to get into the war with germany, but of course, american policy was forcing a decision one way or another. So youre going to hear a fantastic story. The book is in the cauldron, there will be a book signing afterwards. Please welcome lew paper. [applaus [applause]. Well, thank you all for coming. When paul said he was going to introduce me, i had only one request, i said, i dont care if its true or not, just make me look good. [laughter] and i think he did a great job. But i do want to thank paul and cliff for the invitation to be here. Its a great honor and im very privileged and very flattered to have received the invitation. Being here has a special meaning for me. When i was a little boy, my father talked to me all the time about president roosevelt. And the reason my father talked to me about president roosevelt was because i had been stricken about polio as a little boy and my father wanted me to know that polio would not prevent me from being a success in life. And he had no better example, of course, than president roosevelt. I was very fortunate. My polio was not as severe as president roosevelts and later when i got a little older, my father brought me here to the library and museum. It was a very special trip. I was awestruck by the place and i can only say i wish my father could be here with me today. I think he would really enjoy it. But enough about these personal matters. Pearl harbor, weve all seen that film of president roosevelt standing in the well of the United States house of representatives on december 8th, 1941 saying that december 7th, 1941 is a date that will live in infamy because of japans surprise attack on the u. S. Naval base at pearl harbor. Theres no evidence that president roosevelt or his cabinet knew in advance specifically that japan would attack pearl harbor. But they should not have been surprised that japan would attack the United States. In november, 1941 only a few weeks before pearl harbor, joseph grew sent two telegrams to secretary of state cordell hall warning him at that japan was prepared to launch a suicidal war against the United States and that Armed Conflict could come with dangerous and dramatic suddenness. So who was joseph grew and how did he know that . In november, 1941 joseph grew was 61 years old, tall, lean, bushy eyebrows, a full mustache. He had been an american diplomate for almost 40 years and he had been americas ambassador to japan should i be using this one. Can you hear me better now . Oh, okay. Im glad i recognized i was using the wrong microphone, in any event, joseph grew had been an american diplomate for almost 40 years. He had been americas ambassador to japan for almost 10 years. There were four factors that led grew to send those two telegrams to secretary of state cordell hall in november, 1941. The first factor was the japanese economy. The United States had imposed economic sanctions on japan in an effort to curb japans military aggression in china and in Southeast Asia. Those economic sanctions had crippled the japanese economy. Rice was being rationed. There was no gasoline for cars. The few cars that traversed tokyo streets had to be fitted with charcoal engines. Imported coffee was also unavailable. It had been replaced by another brew about which the New York Times correspondent said, it was better not to ask too many questions. There was a second factor that led grew to send those telegrams to secretary of state cordell hall in november, 1941, that was the japanese mindset. Grew knew that a crippled economy would lead to a sense of desperation among the japanese and a sense of desperation would lead to war. It was all part of that samurai do or die spirit that still prevailed in japan. Grew knew that for japanese leaders a ni annihilation in a suicidal war was better than the humiliation of succumbing to american pressure. Theres a story that illustrates that japanese mindset. In the fall of 1941 grew received word from the American Embassy in china about a japanese soldier who had been captured by the chinese troops in the fighting there. The japan soldier came from a welltodo family and he wanted his family back in japan to know that he was alive and well. Grew passed the word on to the japanese government and he soon received a reply, the japanese government said that neither it nor this mans family were interested. As far as they were concerned, that japanese soldier was dead because, said the government, any japanese soldier who had allowed himself to be captured, had dishonored his family and dishonored his government. There was a third factor that led grew to send those telegrams to cordell hull in november 1941 and that concerned the japanese leaders ability to control the japanese population. If i was writing a book about nazi germany, i would not have to tell you about the brutality of the government. Japan was also a very repressive society. Secret police were everywhere. Surveillance was pervasive. No dissent was allowed. An indiscrete word uttered to a friend, a neighbor, a Family Member and the person could find themselves arrested, thrown in jail and subjected to a horrific torture. Grew understood this, if japanese leaders issued a command to launch a suicidal war against the United States, the japanese people would obey that command and they would fight to the death. Theres a fourth factor that led grew to send those telegrams in 1941 and it was to secretary of sta secretary of state cordell hull, for them of the differences between the two countries. And notwithstanding that spirit japanese recognized war with the United States. And they supported an initiative in the spring of 1941 to have discussions with hull in washington to see if the two countries could reach an agreement. For his part secretary of state cordell hull knew there was virtually no chance of japan and the United States reaching an agreement. Hull regarded japan as one of the Worst International desperados in the history of mankind. He subscribed to the view that no promises of the japs as he called them, on paper would be worth anything. But hull could not tell that to the japanese representatives who came to washington d. C. Why . Because in the spring of 1941, americas military capabilities were woefully inadequate. And so president roosevelt and the military chiefs urged hull to drag those conversations out with the japanese as long as possible to give the United States time to bolster its military capabilities and to defer or delay any conflict in the pacific for which the United States was not prepared. And so thats what hull did. From the spring through the summer, into the fall of 1941, he spent untold hours talking with japanese representatives about an agreement that he knew probably would never come to fruition. By the fall of 1941, grew reported to hull from tokyo that japanese leaders were very frustrated about the lack of progress and discussions and that the japanese leaders were beginning to sense that the United States was not really interested in an agreement and that the United States was merely playing for time, but for japan, time was running out. In those months before pearl harbor, grew made many recommendations to president roosevelt and secretary of state cordell hull about things they could do that might avoid the war that grew saw coming. Very few of grews recommendations were acknowledged, none was accepted. Why . Because back in the United States and especially in washington, people could not believe that japan would directly attack the United States. The United States was so much larger in terms of population and resources. People in washington and elsewhere thought, it would be utterly stupid for japan to directly attack the United States. And so, grew would later write that american policy in those months before pearl had an are harbor was completely inflectionable and that his reporting to the government from tokyo was like throwing pebbles into a lake at night. When pearl harbor occurred, as you might imagine, joseph grew was very frustrated and very bitter because he felt that the Roosevelt Administration had squandered a chance to possibly avoid war. When pearl had rbor did occur, grew and other members of the embassy in tokyo were immediately taken and placed as prisoners of war and placed in the embassy in tokyo for about six months while japan and United States worked ought a Diplomatic Exchange agreement. So american diplomates in japan could return to the United States and japanese diplomates in the United States could return to japan. During the six months that he was held as a prisoner of war, joseph grew report a 60 page report that detailed his criticism of american policy in the months before pearl harbor. Grew planned to give that report to president roosevelt and secretary of state cordell hull when he returned to the United States. But it never happened. When grew returned to the United States in august, 1942, he showed the report to secretary of state cordell hull. Hull glanced at the report. Hull immediately saw that the report criticized decisions which hull had made in the months before pearl harbor. Hull immediately demanded that grew destroy that report. As a subordinate official in the state department, grew felt he had no choice, but to agree to hulls demand and so he destroyed that report. I should add theres no evidence that president roosevelt knew about the report or its destruction. For his part, grew never publicly acknowledged the destruction of the report. Even when he was asked in a postwar congressional hearing whether he had prepared any report to give to hull upon his return to the United States. Thank you for that indulgence. So how did i come to write this book about joseph grew and pearl harbor . About six years ago, i was going to write a book about america in 1941. It was the pivotal year for the country. Franklin d. Roosevelt had been inaugurated for an unprecedented third term as president. The uaw had signed its first contract with a car manufacturer. The new york yankees, joe dimaggio hit safely in 56 consecutive games, a record which still stands and of course, japan attacked pearl harbor. In the course of my research i came across the name of joseph grew and his effort to orchestrate an agreement between japan and the United States to avoid the war he saw coming. I was intrigued. And the more i researched, the more i realized, that grews story had never been told. And so i switched gears to tell that story. In writing this book, i wanted to bring the characters alive for the reader. Take president roosevelt, hes a central figure in this drama. When you see roosevelt standing in the well of the United States house of representatives on december 8th, 1941, saying that december 7, 1941 is a date that will live in infamy, he looks so strong. He sounds so vibrant, and yet, as we discussed, here is a man who had been stricken by polio and could not walk. I was thinking about it when i was writing the book. You and i, we get up in the morning, we go to the bathroom, we do our business, we come back, we get dressed, we go about our day. Roosevelt could not do all of that without assistance. And that assistance was not going to be provided by his wife eleanor. She had her own bedroom down the hall at the white house and more than that, she was almost always travelling. Instead roosevelt relayed on a valet. Roosevelt had two valets during his 12 years in the white house and i thought, wouldnt it be great if i could find some commentary from those valets about what roosevelt was like in those private moments with his valet . And i was able to find that commentary. I learned that in those private moments with his valet, roosevelt almost always displayed a sweet, am dmeheable disposition. He had the pityman, he was a good looking guy and although he was married, roosevelt liked to tease him about being a ladies man and every time he would tease him about being a ladies man, he would respond, one does not refute the chief executive, mr. President. I wanted to provide that same intimacy in talking about joseph grew. To do that, i talked to many members of his family. His grand children, his cousins, his greatgrandchildren. They told me many stories that were very useful. One story stood out because it displayed grews diplomatic skills and his stature. It was january, 1949. Grew was asked to provide some remarks at a dinner in honor of general george c. Marshall who was retiring as secretary of state. General marshall had been chief of the army during world war ii. After the war truman appointed him as secretary of state. Now in january of 1949, general marshall was going to retire to his farm in virginia with his wife. In the audience was general dwight d. Eisenhower and his wife mamie. Im sure you all know general eisenhower is the one that led the allied invasion in normandy. In his Closing Remarks in honor of general marshall, grew said all he wants to do is retire to his farm in virginia with mrs. Eisenhower. Well as soon as he said that, people began to laugh. Grew immediately recognized his mistake, and quickly and cooley said my apologies to the general and at that point general eisenhower blurted out, which general . I did not rely solely on discussions with members of grews family. I also had access to a lot of documents. No document was more important than grews diary. This guy was incredibly disciplined. Through his long diplomatic career, almost every evening during the week and on weekends, he would sit at his desk, his pipe clenched between his teeth, his smith corona typewriter in front of him and he would write out what had happened. What had been said, what he had thought in the previous day. I had access to thousands of pages of grews diary. I knew almost everything he did, everything he said, and everything he thought in those months before pearl harbor. I knew what time he got up in the morning. I knew that his favorite scotch whiskey was Johnnie Walker red, and i knew, too, about his very deep feelings for his wife alice. And in fact, in many respects, this book is a love story. When joseph grew married alice perry in 1904, she was a tall, vivacious beautiful woman with long, dark hair. Alice came from a prominent family in boston, but she had little formal education because the family was always travelling. But alice was very smart and she had a lot of opinions and alice wanted to share those opinions with her husband. And he was willing to listen. Grew told his daughters that he rarely sent out an Important Message or a communication, or rarely did anything of any consequence without consulting alice. But alice was a Formidable Force in her own right. That was illustrated by a story told by grews private secretary. It concerned a social evening at the American Embassy in tokyo, shortly before pearl harbor. The grews invited over for dinner, sir robert kreg